Hanging on the Wall
by vylrael
Summary: Centuries after the Hero of Time failed in his quest to save Hyrule, a young blonde finds an interesting relic in the Lost Woods.
1. Chapter 1

The blacksmith's apprentice had been let out of work early. Usually he took this opportunity to play with his employer's son in a clearing or perhaps just go home and get some sleep, but for some reason Link decided that it was a perfect day to do a bit of exploration. Death Mountain was horribly dangerous though, as was the desert. The waterways of Hyrule had somewhat mean-spirited Zoras living inside of them, and the boy couldn't swim anyway. As for the Palaces, he was sure he would get in some sort of trouble if he played around inside of them. Really, the Lost Woods seemed like his best bet.

With a bag of supplies slung over his shoulder, Link took off for the forest. He knew he would be fine. Legends had always circulated that the Lost Woods were named because of how easy it was to get lost inside of them. This was true, of course, but there was an odd twist to it. Getting lost was only easy when it came to going deeper. Getting out of the woods was incredibly simple, almost suspiciously so. It was as if the place was consciously trying to keep people out of it. Besides, even if he did get lost, he had packed more supplies than he actually needed for an afternoon expedition.

After a couple of hours of wandering, Link began to notice something odd. Up until that point, the woods were full of life. Wildlife was always wandering about and there was a breeze that managed to make it through the fog and between the trees. Now it was completely dead. No animals could be seen, nor even a trace of their existence. Even the air was still. The silence of the place was such that Link became more aware of the sound of his own breathing than he had ever been.

Just as the boy began to consider turning back, he saw a clearing up ahead. Something within him kept begging to go home, but his curiosity got the better of him and he continued onward. There he saw an immense tree stump. Near it was what seemed it be a tunnel, though it had collapsed after only a few feet, removing the possibility of exploration. What grabbed his attention, however, was a tiny detail. There was something buried under a small layer of dirt, only the tip of a spike sticking out.

The blonde dug up the object and cleaned the dirt off it carefully. It was a large, heart shaped, purple mask. The spike he had seen sticking out was just one of several around the edges of the thing. It had two round eyes that seemed somewhat disturbing in the way they stared back at him. Link wondered where it could have come from. Had someone lost it out here? If they did, it must have been very recent. The paint didn't look faded from exposure to the elements or anything. Well, until he figured out where it actually belonged, he could at least hang it up in his home, on the wall.


	2. Chapter 2

Termina was gone. Link had, in this timeline and one other, never made it to the other world. Without him to save it, the moon fell, the people were wiped out, the earth burned, and the Skull Kid was soon after disposed of. All in all, it was a fun game, if a bit short. The mask would have to make sure that the next one went on for longer.

Of course, there wasn't much of a choice in that last world. If the game had lasted too long, that annoying man would have come and spoiled the fun like he had in the past! Didn't he understand that playtime needed to continue? Being kept in that backpack was certainly not something enjoyable. For a moment, the thought crossed the mask's mind that perhaps that killjoy had met his end when Termina was wiped out. It was impossible, though. Over the centuries, Majora had learned better.

The mask considered his surroundings for a moment. He remembered this forest. It was the place that the Skull Kid used to go back and forth between Hyrule. Perhaps Majora had been a bit too hasty in ending the boy's life. How was he meant to get deeper into Hyrule now? There wasn't much of a chance that someone would come discover the purple relic. At least that meant the smiling man wasn't likely to come around either. The tunnel that led into the other world was collapsed anyway. Even if he wanted to return to Hyrule, the salesman would need to find another way. Besides, Majora could wait a little while. It was better to take a little break and get some new toys instead of having to use the old ones again.

Several centuries passed. By this point, the mask had passed boredom and retreated into its own mind, playing out fantastic little games in its mind. It didn't have many other options at the moment. It couldn't grow more powerful until it had a host after all. Lost in its own imagination, Majora didn't even notice the layer of dirt that had settled over its form. Finally, though, it was snapped out of the fantasies and reminded of where it was. Some boy had wandered deep enough into the woods. It seemed some fun could finally begin. Even if the blonde didn't wear the mask right away, that was part of the enjoyment. It always managed to make itself appealing to the morals. The Hylian would put it on soon enough. In the meantime, Majora could take a good look at the world while they traveled to Link's home, and it could come up with the perfect game to play with each sight it took in. Termina was rushed, but now there was plenty of time to plan out all that could be done in this new world.


	3. Bonus Chapter

The man continued smiling even through his rage. All around him, there was nothing but blackness. He had been forced to scurry away from Termina, retreating to a small space between the worlds while his prized possession wiped the realm out. It was truly infuriating. Majora's Mask had never been particularly happy about being his. It became even less happy when it realized that it had no sway over the human-looking being.

This wasn't the first time that Majora destroyed a world. In fact, it had done so countless times before the salesman managed to get his hands on it. Even afterwards, it slipped away and caused some damage from time to time, but the man had always gotten it back. Termina was different though. He should have kept away from it. The world was already cursed by the gods. It's fate was already set. It had to fade away in time. Bringing Majora there only sped up the process and gave the mask a chance to slip away. Now the Happy Mask Salesman couldn't even figure out where it had gone off to. The golden goddesses had made so many worlds, and there were so many more that existed without their knowledge, the salesman was back at square one, as he had been before finding Majora in the first place.

Suddenly, something drew the man's attention. There was some sort of destruction happening across the worlds. It was a place that had no proper connections to other lands that he could slip through, but it seemed its walls were beginning to crack. He could always make his way in through one of those breaches. Whatever was occurring, he knew it wasn't Majora's fault. He had become familiar with that particular sort of chaos. No...this was different, but it still seemed that this world must be meeting a terrible fate, and whenever someone met with a terrible fate, there would be plenty of new treasures to add to the salesman's collection. Perhaps he could even lend out that rabbit mask if he thought he could get a good return on it in the long run.


End file.
